For natural abundance and sheer variety of landscape and culture, few places on earth can rival Sri Lanka. This exceptional School Adventure itinerary includes the chance to make educational visits to many of Sri Lanka's historical and archaeological highlights, such as the natural rock fortress of Sigiriya, the cave temple of Dambulla and the former capital of Kandy with its 'Temple of the Tooth'. It also features a selection of day-hikes and a mini trek through the pristine mountains of the Knuckles and Namunukula ranges. We walk to 'World's End on the Horton Plains and follow the pilgrim trail up sacred Adam's Peak (2243m), where a midnight start allows us to experience sunrise at the summit. We also spend an evening at the isolated Monaragala lake temple where we attend a class on meditation and stay overnight in the pilgrim's accommodation. Our Sri Lankan experience includes meeting local villagers in a part of the country rarely visited by tourists plus a wildlife safari through leopard country and some relaxation time at Arugam Bay beach resort. For a fantastically varied and educational adventure this trip is hard to beat. This tried and tested KE Schools itinerary can be adjusted to better fit the needs of your group - please call and speak to a KE School Groups Coordinator or email schools@keadventure.com

Is this holiday for you?

The intention of this school adventure is to enjoy the best of the varied hiking which Sri Lanka has to offer. combined with visits to some of the island's most important historical and cultural sights. The hiking is not particularly strenuous and the altitudes attained are never sufficiently high to cause problems with acclimatisation. In addition, the underfoot conditions are generally good, on tracks and trails through tea plantations and forest and between villages, although we may encounter some slippery conditions on forest trails. There are 6 days when we do a significant amount of walking, averaging 5 to 6 hours on each of these days. The ascent of Adam's Peak involves 4 hours up and 2 hours down on an unrelenting series of more than 3000 steps! In order to catch the sunrise moist of this ascent is made at night. During the Pilgrim season (December to May) the entire trail is lit with electric lights. Outside of this season we will make the ascent by the light of our head-torches.